outpost

/ˈaʊtpəʊst/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈaʊtpəʊst/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈau̇t-ˌpōst/ (ame, mw)

outpost — noun

  • outpostsingular
  • outpostsplural

1. a settlement, base, or cluster of buildings that an organisation such as a gover

1.名詞C1
釋義

a settlement, base, or cluster of buildings that an organisation such as a government, army, or business sets up in a far-off area to extend its reach into that region.

例句

The trading company kept a tiny outpost on the island to buy local spices.

outpost + on/in [remote location]

Hassan flew supplies once a month to a military outpost deep in the desert.

military outpost — typical adjective collocation

同義詞
  • garrison

    military only; troops stationed for defence

  • station

    broader and more neutral; any staffed post, not necessarily remote

  • settlement

    civilian and often permanent; lacks the 'branch of a larger authority' meaning

反義詞
  • headquarters

    the main centre that the outpost reports back to

文法句型

outpost of [authority/company]

outpost in [remote place]

用法筆記

Subject is usually an institution (government, army, church, company) that has a larger centre elsewhere; the outpost extends that centre's reach. Often modified by 'remote', 'distant', 'far-flung', 'military', or by a place name.

常見錯誤

❌I work at an outpost in the city centre.
✅I work at the head office in the city centre.
💡an outpost is by definition far from the main centre, not in it.

2. a place, group, or thing seen as one of the last surviving traces of a practice,

2.名詞C2
釋義

a place, group, or thing seen as one of the last surviving traces of a practice, style, or way of life that has mostly vanished — used figuratively to suggest the example is holding out against extinction.

例句

This old café is one of the last outposts of bohemian Paris near our square.

one of the last outposts of [disappearing thing]

Élise's tiny bookshop felt like a quiet outpost of slow reading in a phone-addicted city.

outpost of [value/culture] in [contrasting setting]

同義詞
  • bastion

    stronger image of active defence; often political or moral

  • stronghold

    implies organised resistance; more confident than 'outpost'

  • holdout

    informal; emphasises stubborn refusal to change

文法句型

one of the last outposts of [something disappearing]

用法筆記

Almost always preceded by 'last', 'one of the last', 'rare', or 'lone', and followed by 'of + [thing being lost]'. Distinguish from sense 1: here the outpost is figurative — a cultural or social hold-out — not a real branch of an organisation.

常見錯誤

❌Tokyo is an outpost of fashion.
✅This little shop is one of the last outposts of 1980s fashion.
💡sense 2 needs the idea of something rare and disappearing, not just a place that has a lot of it.